Auto industry retains momentum in October despite federal shutdown

Politicians may have temporarily shut down the federal government for roughly half of October, and impacted several industries. But the disruption didn’t stop consumers from buying new vehicles.

Edmunds.com forecasts that automakers will sell 1.2 million new cars and this month — 12.7 percent more than were sold in October 2012. However, officials with the auto research company note that a longer shutdown could have put the brakes on what has otherwise been a successful year for the industry.

“It looks like the government shutdown ended just in the nick of time,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “The week-by-week data suggests that consumers started to get jittery by the middle of the month. But with the government back to work, most lost sales should be made up in the latter half of the month, and the industry’s momentum will continue the pace it enjoyed before the disruption in Washington.”

Edmunds analysts project that Toyota, which manufactures Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks in San Antonio, will sell nearly 179,000 vehicles this month — 15.2 percent more than during the same month a year ago.